and ate picked several pounds of raspberries. (I couldn’t figure out why he didn’t eat the strawberries, but chowed down on the raspberries…still baffled by that!)

Total for these raspberries, plus an equal number of strawberries: $18

Next stop…roadside farmer’s market! There is just something more appealing to me about “local produce”! I plan to stop at our local farmer’s market when I can throughout the summer to get some great deals on local produce.

Total for the above (plus a bag of white onions): $8

(I’d never seen or heard of “yellow zucchinis” that you see in the middle. I couldn’t help but grab them!)

More on what I did with all this squash later in the week…

And because this is a pantry challenge week, I set out this morning to only get milk, eggs and some fruit.

I needed to prove to myself after a few “not so stellar” shopping trips that I could still go into the store and “just grab” what I needed! Plus gallon of milk is still on sale for $1.75! All fruit pictured was also on “rollback.” And eggs for $.92/dozen and strawberries for $1.28!

I’ve got quite a bit of produce in the fridge leftover from last week, so this is all I need!

Which place did you go to for strawberry and rasperry picking? I saw a couple close places on pickyourown.org but wasn’t sure which one we should try. We were thinking of going this weekend before it’s all over. Also curious where you found that road side veggie stand…..I haven’t seen any yet. There is a local farmers market in Centerville on Thursday, up behind the church by Graters and City BBQ. I’ve heard it’s good and plan on going this week. Also, the Kmart parking lot across from the Green has one on Saturday mornings that is supposed to be good…..as well as 2nd Street Market of course.

Wow, that looks like a lot of fun. We went cherry picking a few weeks back at one of those u-pick orchards out here in northern California and had a great time and got tons of tasty cherries. This weekend it was apricot picking at my parent house.

I’m amazed that you were courageous enough to grab a veggie that you didn’t recognize, while trying to feed the family on $5! I would worry that I wouldn’t be able to find a good recipe! Well done! Can’t wait to see what you do with the summer squash.

If you are looking for a way to save dollars on food check and see if the local school disctrict is part of the Federal Summer Lunch program. Any child 18 and under can get a free breakfast and lunch at a location. They don’t check your income for the summer program. I take my daughters everyday during the week for a lunch. Adults need to brown bag it or eat before they get there.

Just thought I would let you know that I live in Waynesville and I will be opening my veggie stand in a couple of weeks. My friend and I love to garden and I can alot. About 5 years ago we thought we would sell what we didnt use instead of letting go to waste to make a little of our expenses back. I try to keep prices low so that everyone can enjoy and mark down things that I have to much of to move it. Hope you all can stop by to check out.